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Service differentiation -- Is the pie big enough?

by nykotai
5 replies
Hello all,

Just starting offline and would like to pick the brain of some of the more experienced offliners.

Everybody seems to be offering web design, video, mobile, SEO these days (looking at CL in my city gives me headaches ...)

How do you guys go about differentiation and picking/zeroing on the services that you should be offering?

I understand many of those companies (especially on the SEO) side are fly by night companies but i am of the opinion that you should have a unique selling proposition that is appealing to your market.

Any thoughts/suggestions?
#big #differentiation #pie #service
  • Profile picture of the author TimD
    Welcome Nykotai,
    I hope you thrive. And yes, I agree with you that the offline market place has become very crowded. I get emails everyday from firms in India offering web design and SEO and craigslist in Seattle is stuffed with offers for websites from $99 to $299.

    I think there are a couple of ways to make money in a market like this:
    1. Outgoing direct response - contact people with valuable offers. There are lots of people who need services who aren't actively looking for them.
    2. Scale - if you can find an effective marketing method, scale it large.
    3. Differentiate (as you said), specialize in a particular service, or technology (which will make you the best of a low priced crowd), or an industry (vertical specialization) or business process (horizontal specialization).

    I agree that specialization will probably yield the most margin now and in the future. We are pursuing horizontal specialization and looking for a vertical market, or use case, or type of business to use to create a beach head.
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  • Profile picture of the author nykotai
    Thanks Tim. Some great points there!
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  • Profile picture of the author Red Kaiser
    Good points all around here. I especially like TimD's suggestion to specialize in something and thrive in it, it definitively helps with the USP when starting out.

    Personally I'd rather go with a lawyer who specializes in bankruptcy over someone who claims to do bankruptcy, immigration, adoptions, divorce, accidents, did we mention adoptions?, birth injuries, etc.
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    • Profile picture of the author TimD
      Originally Posted by Red Kaiser View Post

      Good points all around here. I especially like TimD's suggestion to specialize in something and thrive in it, it definitively helps with the USP when starting out.

      Personally I'd rather go with a lawyer who specializes in bankruptcy over someone who claims to do bankruptcy, immigration, adoptions, divorce, accidents, did we mention adoptions?, birth injuries, etc.
      Another advantage of specializing is that you become everybody's buddy instead of everybody's competition. Say you decide to specialize in Google Places/Plus. If you take that seriously, you can go find SEO companies or web design companies (use Manta or Google Places or Google Maps) and pitch them on bringing you in to help them keep that part of the business (sub it out to you).

      You have to scale massively to really bring in business this way. But to thrive in this business you need to get in the mindset of massively scaling no matter what you do. You should be thinking of doing 10 times or 30 times or 100 times what the casual folks on the forum are doing. And if you set a goal of contacting 100 web design firms a week, I guarantee you'll find a handful that will want to partner with you (I've done a strategy like this).

      If you specialize, you need to have your own point of view. Here's how people are thinking about Google Plus, or SEO, or whatever that's only partly effective. And here's what we do that adds value (differentiates us). You'll find some group of folks who really resonate with what you're saying.
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  • Profile picture of the author Baadier Sydow
    As Red Kaiser said, differentiate. Another important point is to remember that you have the power to choose the customers you want to work with. Being selective in how you price and approach can make all the difference.

    Remember, each client isnt only worth a certain amount of money, they are also worth the sum of the referral network they bring to the table if they are happy with your work.

    The guy at the bottom of the food chain is likely to know others in the same boat whereas guys at the top are more likely to contribute high earners.
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    Baadier Sydow
    Budget Furniture

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